


Summer on the Mountain

by Inner Voice (inner_v0ice)



Category: King Must Die Series - Mary Renault
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-21
Updated: 2010-09-21
Packaged: 2017-10-12 01:59:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/119544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inner_v0ice/pseuds/Inner%20Voice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>vignette -- Theseus, the Companions, and a cold mountain stream on a hot summer day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer on the Mountain

**Author's Note:**

> written in 2007 for a one-hour challenge, prompt: "the dog days of summer," at [maryrenaultfics](http://community.livejournal.com/maryrenaultfics/).

When I set out with the Companions that morning, the sun had barely risen and the air was still light and cool. I had thought to catch another buck today—the Companions had gotten over the anxiety of letting me stray too far from the palace, and now looked forward to our hunts as eagerly as I—but it seemed that was not to be. By mid-morning, though the trees shielded us from the worst of the sun, it still felt as though we were stifling in the thick hot closeness of the woods. The dogs sniffed about listlessly and gave up without finding any scent, and we tired quickly as we fruitlessly combed the mountain slopes for game. By noon, I had given up the hunt as a lost cause. I called off the chase and we all sat panting in the shade; dogs, Companions, and truant year-King.

Presently some of the young men roused themselves enough to look for water. They disappeared into the woods, and soon we heard them calling that they had found a stream. I led the others toward the sound of their voices, and indeed there was a good-sized mountain stream nearby, still icy-cold despite the summer heat. We all whooped with glee and dove in, not even bothering to strip, and began splashing each other and doing our best to drench all the others from head to toe.

When we finally tired of the game and began to shiver in the chilly waist-deep water, we waded downstream until we found a flat rocky outcropping where we could lie and dry ourselves. The rock was barely big enough to hold all of us, so we all had to crowd together as we lay, laughing and shoving at each other to make room for ourselves. At last we settled down into silence and simply enjoyed the warmth. The rock was almost searingly hot from the sun, and we could feel the sunlight beating down on us from the sky as well. The heat and the stillness and the soft breathing of the Companions lulled me, and I felt my eyes drifting slowly shut.


End file.
